The Coordination Product Release has offered some great dies to go with special stamps in the January-June Mini Catalog and the Sale-A_Bration brochure. Today my focus is special as well…Special Someone Stamp Set and Special Days Dies.

Special Someone

The stamp set, Special Someone, offers two-step stamping capabilities. Two-step stamping is a process for stamping an outline shape in one color, and then stamping a filler shape in another color to create an instant image. In effect, two separate stamps cohesively making one two-toned image.

Two-step stamping is a great way to complete a project quickly. And the photopolymer stamps make lining up the filler image over the outline image a breeze. But don’t worry, you can choose to hand color the image if you prefer.

I adore the cute critters in this stamp set, raccoon, squirrel and mouse. They lend well to kids cards, but are also very life-like and realistic enough to use in cards depicting nature as well. The sentiments direct your cards toward birthday, thank you, and get well – the perfect trifecta.

Special Days Dies

The coordinating dies, Special Days, give you the ability to take your critters anywhere. Not only do they cut out your leading characters, you have the option to make balloons (oval and heart shaped) and strings to attach. There are also dies for flowers, grass and bows. A word bubble die lets your critters share their thoughts.

Special Cards

I had a lot of fun creating with this stamp set and their coordinating dies. Admittedly, the little mouse kinda stole the show. It is easy to experiment with shading colors to create soft or bold looks. I see pink and blue raccoons in my future.

For a Very Special Someone

For this card, I chose colors from the 2019-2021 In Color Collection. Seaside Spray, Purple Posy and Terracotta Tile are muted beautifully with black and white. I took advantage of different size circle punches to create peep holes for my friends.

The Special Day Dies allowed me to cut around the stamped images, so the animals could pop thru the holes with a colorful background behind them. I embossed the Whisper White cardstock using the Pinewood Planks Embossing Folder for a woodsy look. The little accent flowers (yet another die in this set) were capped with rhinestone jewels to add sparkle.

A Special Happy Birthday

The versatility of this special collection is the supporting props. As you can see, this card doesn’t have a single critter in sight. I chose bright colors for the oval balloons, but kept the heart shaped balloon a soft pink for greater contrast between them.

I found die cutting the strings a little tricky. The secret (learned by trial and error) is to line up the tiny hole at the base of the metal string die with the bottom stamped image of the string. Practice always makes perfect, and because these are small images, there is not a lot of waste in attempting to gain perfection.

Rich Merry Merlot acts as a neutral color with Crumb Cake, which is embossed with the Corrugated folder. I scattered a few Basic Adhesive Backed Sequins along the bottom and added Braided Linen Trim as complimentary embellishments.

3 x 3 Mini

This little mouse steals the show on a 3″ x 3″ card. He has designs on the daisy, two-step stamped in black and yellow and die cut. Small pieces of cardstock, Smoky Slate embossed in Mosaic and Daffodil Delight embossed in Scripty, blend with the gray mouse and yellow flower perfectly.

The stamped sentiment, with love, is a partial inking of the stamp “sent with love” from Itty Bitty Greetings. I inked only the portion of the stamp I wanted to use for this card. Lastly, I added 2 Frosted Epoxy Droplets along the white band. Their plain and simple element adds balance.

Make Special Cards

A home made card is always a special card, but the Special Someone Stamp Set and Special Day Dies really help to hone in on that factor. Remember, special qualities aren’t limited to the card itself. It is manifested in the card maker and the card recipient as well.

If you enjoy cards with cute critters, be sure to check out my post Hey Lady for ladybug card ideas. As always, if you need any card making supplies for the featured projects, please visit my online store https:www.juliemakson.stampinup.net. There are always surprises in the clearance rack, maybe you will find something special there as well.